63% of Indian CMOs are under pressure to deliver profitability; 53% for revenue growth

Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) in India are increasingly feeling the heat to prove their commercial mettle, reveals the IBM CMO Study 2025. According to the study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), in collaboration with Oxford Economics, 63% of Indian CMOs are now directly accountable for delivering profitability—closely aligned with their global peers (64%). Meanwhile, 53% of Indian CMOs are also expected to drive revenue growth, marking a significant expansion of their traditional mandate. 

Based on insights from 1,800 CMOs and CSOs across 33 countries and 24 industries, the study puts a spotlight on the complex pressures faced by marketing leaders, particularly in India. Indian CMOs are not only having to rethink consumer engagement strategies but are also being asked to future-proof their organisations. 

Their top priorities? Enhancing customer experience (41%), scaling service delivery (37%), modernising technology (37%), improving marketing and sales effectiveness (34%), and innovating business models (32%). 

Yet, the path ahead is anything but smooth. The study underscores a growing disconnect between strategic ambition and execution capacity, particularly in areas like responsible AI, data utility, and talent readiness. 

“As AI radically transforms how businesses engage, operate, and grow, Indian CMOs are uniquely positioned to lead this shift by harnessing AI responsibly,” said Tuhina Pandey, director – APAC Communications and Marketing, India and South Asia, IBM. “While the potential of AI is clear, what’s needed now is a bold new playbook, one powered by trusted data, skilled talent, cultural reset, and AI augmentation.” 

Pressure cooker environment 

The modern marketing leader is caught in a paradox. Despite gaining access to larger budgets and increasingly advanced tools, their organisations remain structurally unfit to deliver the boardroom-level outcomes now demanded of them. 

Traditional marketing playbooks—pushing more data, more campaigns, more spending—are no longer sufficient. In India, CMOs are being asked to shift from static campaign-based planning to perpetual growth engines. 

The real test lies in moment-based marketing powered by agentic AI, which learns, adapts, and optimises towards business outcomes. As the study notes, while 44% of Indian CMOs say they’re ready to integrate agentic AI into their function, only 26% believe they have the necessary talent to realise this in the next two years. And only 23% have prepped their teams for the cultural and operational upheaval AI will bring. 

AI without guardrails? 

The enthusiasm for AI stands in stark contrast to the readiness to deploy it responsibly. Just 26% of Indian CMOs have defined responsible AI guidelines that ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability. 

The governance gap is even more alarming: only 22% of Indian organisations surveyed have put clear rules in place for AI-driven decision-making. This leaves a vast majority exposed to operational and reputational risk. 

"Our company’s people-first mindset is simple: everyone owns the customer experience. It extends well beyond marketing—HR plays a vital role in hiring top talent focused on client interactions. Sales and delivery teams are central in creating first impressions. While we value the power of marketing technology, analytics, and digital ecosystems, it takes real people, working together, to make it real,” said Keith Landis, CMO, Xebia. 

Despite all the buzz around data-driven decision-making, only 1% of enterprise data is currently being tapped effectively. This, when 63% of Indian CMOs agree that generative AI’s real value lies in proprietary data, is a missed opportunity of massive proportions. Instead of relying on third-party sources, brands must now double down on collecting and leveraging first-party data. 

"We have to shift. Shift from being the short-order cook for marketing tactics and others’ ideas to becoming the strategic orchestrator that consistently enchants with our organisation’s story and purpose,” stated R. Ethan Braden, vice president, chief marketing and communications officer, Texas A&M University. 

Silo syndrome still persists 

Only a third of Indian organisations have a cross-functional view of the customer journey, indicating how fragmented marketing, sales, and operations continue to be. CMOs estimate that breaking down these silos could unlock up to a 20% increase in revenue. The study makes a strong case for building integrated frameworks where AI systems are embedded across touchpoints, from discovery to post-purchase. 

This requires an overhaul of marketing’s internal architecture. The ability to scale relevant experiences in real time, through modular and localised strategies, is what will separate agile brands from outdated ones. 

The growing dominance of AI-powered answer engines like Google's AI Overview and ChatGPT is disrupting digital discovery. Traditional SEO-based marketing is losing steam. A study of 300,000 keywords revealed that the presence of an AI Overview correlates with a 34.5% drop in clickthrough rates for top-ranking websites. 

With fewer users reaching brand websites, marketers are being forced to compete in micro-moments—those fleeting digital windows where trust and value must be delivered instantly. 

From loyalty programmes to loyalty engines 

While 71% of marketing leaders plan to boost efforts around customer loyalty in the coming year, there’s limited clarity on what drives it today. Loyalty now stems from real-time relevance, not just rewards. This requires a shift to ongoing, adaptive experiences anchored in meaningful value. 

“The customer relationship needs to be seen through a multidimensional prism. A series of experiences that must be imagined, created, orchestrated and tracked. And you cannot be complacent. The customer is always evolving and expectations only go higher. You’ve got to be on it all the time,” said Ginny Cartwright Ziegler, CMO, Pearson. 

Perhaps the most sobering revelation from the study is the gap between aspiration and execution. Many Indian CMOs understand where they need to go but lack the tools, talent, and operating model to get there. As the market shifts from campaign thinking to system thinking, the ability to build intelligent, scalable, and adaptive marketing ecosystems will define success.

“The client is getting smarter, fast. They’re using AI tools to educate themselves, and they’re quick to challenge our sales experts, armed with that knowledge. Gone are the days of walking in with a template and being the authority. It’s a game-changer. We need to adapt and bring more value to the conversation,” stated Luca Samorì, former commercial excellence and transformation director, Petit Forestier. 

An ecosystem advantage 

One area where Indian CMOs outperform their global counterparts is in building ecosystem partnerships. 62% of Indian CMOs prioritise such alliances, well above the global average of 47%. These partnerships are seen not just as distribution channels but as strategic growth enablers—whether through tech integration, talent pooling, or co-creation of digital services. 

As demand leaders embrace digital products and services to lower costs, improve efficiency, and expand reach, Indian brands that can stitch these capabilities into an intelligent marketing system will have the edge. 

The IBM CMO Study 2025 places Indian CMOs at a pivotal juncture. Expectations are rising, but so are the complexities. From AI-readiness and data utilisation to talent transformation and ecosystem design, success now depends on how holistically marketers can rewire their function. 

For a CMO to thrive in 2025 and beyond, it won’t be about who can shout the loudest, but who can listen, adapt, and execute with intelligence, speed, and empathy—not just at scale, but at the speed of the customer.

(Source: Campaign India)